The Skateboarder

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     The weather broke wonderful this afternoon in Miami.  I could tell the locals were loving it.  The lonely benches were full, men and women dressed up to go out, boats started moving in the marinas, and families were back in the park walking.  I was loving the break in the weather myself as the breeze kept me cool and comfortable in the afternoon sun walking to dinner.

     Today I wanted to catch a few people in "street photography" mode.  I got two keepers.  The first was this skateboarder.  He was having his fun here near, using this launching pad six to eight feet from three lanes of traffic.  He was quite good with his tricks.  To him they were just warm ups.  If it was me on the board, it would be death defying.

     Home tomorrow!  I cannot wait.  I know it will take more than a few minutes to get used to the noise of five extra bodies running around with their own agendas, but that is what being a Dad is all about right?

-ehw

And the world fell silent

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And the world fell silent The world fell silent on that Holy Saturday.  The Lord who lowered himself to become a mere mortal man, in death went even lower.  As he opened the gates of hell, we could not see his preaching and the legions coming to the sound of his voice and the promise of salvation.

This thought from todays Divine Office sermon in the daily Office of Readings made me think a lot differently today.  The rain here last night stopped baseball and sports in its tracks across northern metro Atlanta.  My day went from overfull to silent in outside activity.  We were able to do what my heart really no desires, focus on preparing for the big religious celebration tomorrow.

I spent time with my father collecting a few final supplies for the big Easter feast.  It was busy out in public, but the time we spent together reflectively.  The children were at home with my wife, mother and sister prepping the house and the easter cake (A two foot tall bunny cake).  When we arrived home we all decorated the eggs made with care in the morning by my mother, dad and I.  My wife was checking out the clothing for Easter Sunday, and making sure we had enough of the vitial things like dark socks cleaned and folded.  Then a final treat when my Dad took us all out for dinner...before we shuffled everyone off to bed.

Now the house is quieting down...only the two year old remains calling for anyone to get her out of the crib to play a few more hours (this kid does not sleep enough...GO GO GO).

I'm now reflecting on the incredible challenges we overcame, the love of friends helping us in deed and prayer through those challenges, and finally the growth my family went through spirituallyin the 40 days of Lent.

I am happy the world went silent today.  It gave me the time to now go to bed with a long list of thanksgiving prayers I need to say.

The first to the Lord for his suffering and final victory.  The rest to all those who followed his teachings to lift us up when we were down.

-ehw

Easter Weekend Easter Weekend Easter Weekend Easter Weekend Easter Weekend Easter Weekend Easter Weekend

Lessons in Silence

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Lessons in Silence One of the things about being the Dad with a camera in Little League is you have to learn to be an observer...and nothing more.

See if you capture the critical play and know the umpire got it wrong..you'd better stay quiet.  It is the umpire's field, he called it the way he saw it, and he's the authority not you.  To kick, shout or throw a tantrum is to dishonor your team and status as a photographer.  It will also get you asked to leave and not come back!  Anyway the umpires called a good game, excellent strike zone and kept it all moving. Besides if you focus on your craft, you capture a moment and show how to be a good relaxed Dad.  

My son did well.  Pulled in a fly out in right, grounded into an infielders choice, and caught for an inning.  He got settled down and did well behind the plate.  He had a great play guarding the plate...but I will refer back to the lesson in silence and not tell you the call!  See whether he got credit for the out or not it did not matter for the purposes of me getting to stay on the field!  He hauled the ball in, got a tag on the runner, and improved during his second tour behind the plate this season.  I got to see all this without a fence in front of me, and with a 60-250mm (90-375mm with a 1.5 crop factor) telephoto lens!  HEHE!

So that takes me to today...first game I was able to shoot all season from start to finish.  I vowed today to make sure I did as little as I could in post production.  So I shot RAW + JPEG, set the camera to vibrant, worked the exposure settings between shots to get the best one, played with highlight and shadow controls in camera...and worked it as well as I could.  Big thing in post is cropping, and then some extra highlight controls (it was very bright!).  By working hard, and getting the JPEGs right I got the work done quickly today.  If something needed extra work it would only take a few seconds to switch to the RAW and try to recover a few more highlights of shadows to enhance the shot.  Today I did not have to do that at all.

So in a few minutes I'll share the photos with both teams (the other team's coach was my son's coach last fall)...and head off to bed...job all done!

Now all I need to to get paid for this sometime!

-ehw

P.S. Mr Pentax K-5 with 60-250F4 all day long

Ground Ball!

Spot On

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Basking in the light My little girl Kellie her was reading like her big sister bookworm, and I just had to capture the smile...so I did.

Now in this little photo I found myself able to teach myself the value of a feature, and to remember an RC (as in Raphael Conception) rule.

I knew the had a high contrast scene, and to use the zone metering would make everything 18% grey  (aka blah).  So for this photo I slipped into spot metering (my spot metering is aligned with my focus point).  This means my focus point will be exposed properly, and everything else will be exposed relative to that value.  As a result you get all the blown highlights above my daughter, but I accepted that since I wanted it to be light and airy.  Had I used zone metering the camera would attempt to meter different segments of the photo to have as much properly exposed as possible.  Normally that is great, but it would take the pop out of this photo and make it flat.  So my desired light and airy feel would be gone.

The other rule, RC's rule for kids, is in full force here.  I had to take three photos with Mr Fuji to get the combination of smile, head tilt and light I wanted in the final product.  RC is right that you can get good photos of kids...you just need to take lots of photos to get the one worth keeping.  I can say for sure this is not luck, it is perseverance.  (RC is often on the video blog Photography Tips and Ticks, Kelby One and his website www.aboutrc.com)

Just one point here about how lucky I've been so far in my short photography career.  Even though I'm just a little guy, sold only a few photos, have so much to learn...I've had the opportunity to meet some of the nicest people in the business.  I've met and briefly worked with big industry names like Skip Cohen, Michele Celentano, Bob Coates, Scott Bourne, RC, Bill Fortney, Jim Begley and they all gave me the time of day deep respect as a person.  I've also met great photographers I count as friends like Adrian Ciolacu, Fran Ruchalski, Bret Watkins and many others who inspire me and helped me with things like finding a good print shop.  I actually I hope I don't insult anyone who I run out of space to mention....

I think the thing that makes them so special is that they know how to approach a crowd with multi zone metering...and when given the chance to meet you one on one switch to spot metering.  As a result they speak to you, treat you well and make you want to take care of them as they do to you.

So look them up, and enjoy their work.  I'll try to get a link in to each over the next few weeks so you can see the wide range of talents that inspire me...and maybe you too!

-ehw

Inspired work on the way!

The Slow Spring

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The Slow Spring I don't know about you, but this almost feels like we're going to have a year without a summer!  The flowers and blooms though are trying to come out and enjoy the sun.  Just a quick shot from the yard in the fading spring light this weekend.  These flowers are very graceful for a day at most, then they get twisted, and lose a lot of their appeal.  So if I want a shot of them, I need to photograph them as soon as they open.  So the lesson of the day is to take the shot now, because you never know if it will be there tomorrow.

Good lesson for life as well.

-ehw

P.S. Fuji X-E1 with 60mm close up lens.  (This is not a true macro as it will only do 2:1, not the full 1:1 a traditional macro will obtain)

No Blues Here!

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Names from Yesterday While at Old Car City a two weeks ago I had some fun with hubcaps!  Yes those fancy things on your wheels!  As with all chrome and HDR I found the hardest two challenges to be removing the HDR blues and keeping myself out of the reflections.  I have a lot to learn in both areas, as with everything else experience and review will help me get better in the future.

Now many of  you are proficient in Photoshop so removing this blue tint from chrome is not too hard if you know the six mask, layer, etc tricks available in that venerable program.

I on the other hand do not "know" photoshop.  I can still get the blue out pretty easily though using two other tools I have on hand OnOne Perfect Effects or Nik ColorEfex.

To get rid of the tint Perfect Effects simply go to the color masks and select Purify Highlights, and then on a second layer select Purify Shadows.  Move the sliders left and right to get the effect you want.  Don't want it on the whole photo?  Select brush in and apply like you would in Photoshop.

In Nik ColorEfex simply select the White Neutralizer, go into the additional modes and select wedding dress.  Move the sliders to suite.  Done....

I use these not as stand alone options, but as round trips to and from Aperture.  You can do the same thing in Lightroom.

Ok that is the tip of the day.

-ehw

Best Car Deal Ever!

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The car story A fun part of Old Car City is hearing people point at a car and say, "That is my first car!"  I also hear people say, " That car took my family everywhere when I was a child."  Since I did not find any International Scouts, Volkswagen Vanagons, or Japanese market mini-vans (the only forgiegn cars are a few Volkswagen Beetles) I had to laugh at the first car that made me think of one from my youth.

When I was five or six I was being a brat while visiting my Babcha and DjaDja (Polish for Grandmother and Grandfather).  In particular I was not eating my vegetables.  So my DjaDja said, "That's it.  Eric Come with me."  My Dad's other eight brothers and sisters with the other first wave of grandchildren (My Dad was the second oldest) all said in various ways, " Your in trouble!  Going with the Dja to get fixed!"

Well to that level of doom I marched all the way to the attic behind DjaDja.  Once in the attic he said something to the effect of "Where did I put those ..."  After a few minutes of rummaging he exclaimed that he found them and came over to me holding two plastic cars.  One was a red version of the car in the photo.  He said that if I behaved and ate my vegetables one of them could come down.  Not wanting to pick one, I of course wanted both.  I gallantly offered to eat everything on my plate all weekend if I could bring both down.  He accepted my offer.  DjaDja explained to me that I had to look very dour when I came downstairs so his mean reputation would remain in effect.

So down we went, hiding the cars around the corner from the dining room where they could not be seen by the room full of family.  I ate my food all weekend, and raced cars up and down the house to my heart's delight.

Oh well, such are the adventures of Old Car City as you stroll through memory lane.

-ehw

P.S. X-E1 with 60mm Macro.  Processed in HDR EfexPro 2

 

Premium or Regular?

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Premium or Regular? I received a blessing from God today...I went out to fellowship and take photos with the His Light Workshop Crew.

If you have a few minutes I suggest you take a look at the work of Bill Fortney ( http://billfortney.com/) and Jim Begley (http://www.wowphotoshdr.com/).

What you will find are stunning images of life.  You will not find subjects created for shock value or pure sex appeal.  You find written word and art which lifts you upwards...toward an appreciation for God and all his wonders. Bill is fond of saying he loves texture in his photos.  I also think he is very good at helping you appreciate the textures God adds to your life.  Jim makes High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos which knock your socks off in content, technical excellence and message.  When you talk to him, you can see feel his love of God coming out in the same manner of an HDR photograph where something we think is too dark for perception reveals itself and the composition makes sense so the message takes root in your heart and mind in equal parts.  How do these men do this?  By actively listening to you, and letting God work through them in a very humble manner.

See if you come to a His Light Workshop, you better be ready for God to speak through its many members.  You need to understand that when you join the crew, they will care about you more as a person than as a photographer.  The funny thing is when they do this, they offer more of themselves to you as teachers than most others ever will if they did the reverse.

I saw many examples today of agape love in HDR.  People freely giving of themselves to care for others,  offering a prayer for others in need, and providing an environment for people to engage in the sharing at a level their personalities and life texture permits.  It is not loud, it is not outlandish...it is quiet and subtle..it is the sound of the Holy Spirit working his way through people bringing Christ where needed for their sustainment.

So why the title?  Well we all have many choices in life for everything we do.  In choosing friends and services I think we also have a choice...we can chose Premium or Regular friends.  A regular friend will be with us as we travel through life, but when a challenge arrives they'll just walk on their own trying to help you with a man's knowledge.  A premium friend with walk with you, and when the time comes not be afraid to invoke God in the discussion of how you shall overcome life's challenges using his revealed laws of nature and scripture.

The men and women of His Light...they are Premium.

-ehw

PS X-E1 with the 35mm Prime

 

 

 

 

Hardened Steel

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Hardened Steel Guards a Box I took this photo on Saturday, and when I took it I immediately thought about Lent.

One of my goals this lent is to work on accepting God's love myself in my personal life.  I've noticed over the last few years that when I accept more of his agape (self gift) I can give more of me to them than I could before.

I know it sounds funny, but it really is true.  I see this in the lives of many saints.  Little Mother Theresa is a giant in what she she accomplished because of this very lesson.  So if I can do this on even a small scale in my life, maybe this could help my family more than I ever could going it all alone.

So even though the world crushes us with all it has to make us harden our hearts towards God, we have to fight that.  We have to get a peace in our lives that can only come by keeping hearts unlocked to his spirit's love.

Might be a neat idea for you to try as well!

-EHW

PS Pentax K-5 with DFA-100WR, post in Aperture.  I used a combination of global contrast, definition and brushes for detail, and polarization.

A mother's sorrow, and our salvation

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The sorrow of a mother Imagine the sorrow a parent feels when death stands at the doorstep of their child's life.

I personally get rather sick at that thought, and feel a sudden panic to account for my children wherever they are.

Now imagine you are Mary the Mother of God incarnate.  You chose the path of God your entire life.  You accepted the saving grace of your son before you could understand what it meant!  Then after 33 years of raising this man you see your son unjustly condemned.  He then walks past you beaten and broken as his final mission...walking to his death on a tree.  Yet in her sorrow, she still watched her son Jesus become the ultimate passover sacrifice.

The Bible says Mary kept these types of things in her heart from Jesus' earliest days.  I wonder when it all came together for her, when she understood the events she witnessed.

How I'd like to hear her explain how her simple childhood wisdom carried her through these burdensome times!  Or what she thought when she realized the earth shattering gifts her son obtained for us!

When I think about it, I can only say that I've got it so easy compared to her right now...she is definitely a role model to follow as we take the journey towards her son.

-ehw

PS Fuji X-E1 with 18-55, post in Perfect Effects 8

A Lenten Lesson

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And so it begins! Ash Wednesday!  The preparation for the most important day of the year started today.  I attended mass near my office at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary here in Atlanta.  The priest provided a great suggestion on a Lent tradition.  The usual tradition is that we give up something we really like for Lent.  Our celebrant put a twist on that tradition.  He reminded us Jesus does not mind us giving things up that we like as a method of preparing ourselves for a spiritual journey...but what what makes him happiest is when we give up the things he does NOT like before we meet him!

That matched up pretty well with my daily devotional in the Liturgy of the Hours.  So I'm working on giving up a vice everyday (lets say improving my language and vocabulary skills)....and a an extra vice (coffee) on Fridays.  Accomplishing #1 on a normal day will be interesting....without coffee on Fridays?  Oh maybe I'll find a way to stay in bed and hide!

I hope and pray that you too will grow in faith and wisdom on this Lenten journey.

-EHW

P.S. Fuji X-E1 with 18-55

Spring's Flowers

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First Flowers of Srping Well not to rub it in to those of you looking at more white stuff this evening, but look what was in my yard today!

Two weeks ago we had an ice storm.  This weekend we had springlike weather, flowers, and our first baseball practices with the boys.  

Walking the yard today, I think the big tragedy may be my gardenia bush near our deck.  The frost just ravaged the leaves.  It is mostly brown now, and I don't know if it will recover.  We also took some damage to the shed, and it needs roof repair now.  Hopefully I can teach myself to fix it without too much trouble.

This all just reminds me life is so precious, and our journey in the world so tenuous.  

See we're still praying for a lady our age who after having her fourth child in December collapsed in the parking lot at our children's homeschooling music group.  Her husband, knowing she was not feeling well that day was with her and immediately started CPR.  The ambulance came and she went off intubated to the hospital.  All this while her four children sat in the van...again a little miracle since friends nearby swooped them up and took them home for safety.  70 minutes later .... yes 70 minutes later.. her heart started working again on its own.  At first there appeared to be no brain activity...and they they tested again the next day....and found some hope.

By the third day she moved her feet, hands and made sounds.  She even wanted to know if the baby was hungry.  A little over two weeks later she is teasing her husband, who still sits at her side.  She knows her children and family.  She thinks it is 1996...but she is alive (and with children who were not born yet in 1996) and moving towards recovery.   Three doctors already said this is a miracle, even compared her to Lazarus more than once.

I told told my wife I was satisfied a miracle occurred when her husband was at her side that day...and even though feeling queasy she went along to help him get the kids to music. (probably knew Dad would get the times messed up...I know the drill because  my wife writes down everything for me and tells the kids they are my alarm clock).

The cause?  An extremely rare injury to an artery resulting from childbirth in December.

When told about the cause...she said without hesitation the child was worth the cost.

This my friends is a miracle we should all take note of.  We are witnessing a husband and wife who gave all without question to each other, and a witnessing their faith journey with us out here on the outside of their family.

For my wife and I it reminded us to love every moment of our lives.  They could be us.  Our children could be theirs.  It reminded us we need to be living our lives the best we can, because in a flash we could be meeting Jesus.

If you can, add a Marrietta family to your prayers .  They have a long way to go before the healing is done.

If you envisioned the scene, and you shed a year of sorrow and joy just hearing this love story...let this miracle help you be better than you were before for the rest of your lives.  I think the Lord will be pleased, and help his family even more.

-ehw

P.S. X-E1 with 60mm macro.